I'm divorcing a narcissist after 8 years of crazy. This is my story of getting out and healing from the abuse.

Your Love is like a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad DRUG

I am literally experiencing withdrawals from my Narcissist. I mean, mostly because I feel like a complete whack job who is a normally functioning human being one day, and then literally using up all of my self control the next day to not show up on his door step in tears.

I imagine that this is how a heroin addict feels. You know the thing you crave has completely destroyed your life, it has ruined your relationships with all the people you love, it has left you an empty shell of yourself… and it is slowly killing you every day. Yet every single cell of your body is screaming for it. This shit is bananas.

Your Brain on Love, Sex and the Narcissist: The Addiction to Bonding with our Abusers by Shahida Arabi

*If you enjoy this post, please consider supporting Self-Care Haven by purchasing thee-book version of this article, which is an extended and more in-depth look into these biochemical bonds. All proceeds will go towards services for survivors. If you were inspired by this article and would like to write about about this perspective, please be sure to link back to the article. Thank you!

April 27, 2015

Many survivors of narcissistic abuse are confounded by the addiction they feel to the narcissist, long after the abusive relationship took a toll on their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Make no mistake: recovery from an abusive relationship can be very similar to withdrawal from drug addiction due to the biochemical bonds we may develop with our toxic ex-partners.

Understanding why we are addicted permits us recognize that our addiction is not about the merits of the narcissist, but rather the nature and severity of the trauma we’ve experienced. It enables us to detach and move forward with powerful knowledge that can propel us towards greater agency and healthier relationships than the ones we’ve experienced in the past. In addition, it challenges the victim-blaming discourse in society that prevents many abuse survivors from gaining support and validation for the traumas they’ve experienced – validation that would actually help, not hinder, these survivors in leaving their abusive relationships.

Survivors struggle with No Contact and may suffer many relapses on the road to recovery from the psychological trauma of the relationship. Aside from the reasons I’ve proposed inthis blog post on why abuse survivors stay in abusive relationships, I thought I’d explore how our own brain chemistry can lock us into this addiction to the narcissist or sociopathic partner. Some of these same biochemical bonds also make it difficult for us to detach from non-narcissistic partners as well.

1) Oxytocin. This hormone, known famously as the “cuddle” or “love hormone,” is released during touching, orgasm and sexual intercourse; it promotes attachment and trust. It is the same hormone released by the hypothalamus that enables bonding between mother and child. During “lovebombing” and mirroring in the idealization phases with our abusive partners, it’s likely that our bond to them is quite strong as a result of this hormone. Intermittent reinforcement of positive behaviors dispersed throughout the abuse cycle (e.g. gifts, flowers, compliments, sex) ensures that we still release oxytocin even after experiencing incidents of abuse.

I’ve heard from many survivors who reminisce about the great sexual relationship they had with the narcissist, containing an electrifying sexual chemistry they feel unable to achieve with future partners. This is because charming emotional predators such as narcissists are able to mirror our deepest sexual and emotional desires, which leads to a strong sexual bond, which then, of course, releases oxytocin, and promotes even more trust and attachment. Meanwhile, the narcissist, who is usually devoid of empathy and does not form these types of close attachments, is able to move onto his or her next source of supply without much thought or remorse.

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3 thoughts on “Your Love is like a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad DRUG”

Hi there! Thanks so much for sharing my post. I was wondering if there was a way for you to condense it to the first few paragraphs and leave a link to the rest? This will help keep the post at the original source. Thanks so much – I appreciate it! ❤ 🙂